


A Killer From Richard Grayson's Past Returns

by Deepizzaguy



Category: Batman and Robin (Comics), Batman: The Animated Series, WordGirl (Cartoon)
Genre: Crossover, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-05
Updated: 2020-03-08
Packaged: 2021-02-27 09:00:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 8,103
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22134448
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Deepizzaguy/pseuds/Deepizzaguy
Summary: Richard Grayson who is secretly Robin is involved in a tense relationship with his partner Bruce Wayne (Batman) since Tony Zucco who is responsible for the death of his parents who died in a tragic circus accident when Richard was the youngest member of the circus act "The Flying Graysons."Batman has found out that Tony is in Fair City playing his role as a mobster who is shaking down a circus that is owned by Prince Mariano who is a tough as nails owner who has the reputation of in his words "No one comes to my circus and tells me what to do."The question is can our heroes with the assistance of a young teenager save the day?
Relationships: villains - Relationship





	1. The Meeting Of The Heroes Inside A Spaceship Hideout

**Author's Note:**

> The story is based on the "Batman: Animated Series" episodes when Robin came close to blows with his partner Batman when Tony Zucco who is responsible for the death of Dick Grayson's parents a long time ago wanted to team up with his partner to take out the man responsible for the loss of his parents.  
> Fast forward years after the team of super heroes captured Zucco who has paid his debt to society. Only this time a circus owned by a Panamanian who is friends with Jacqueline Moreno is in town for a show for the kids in Fair City to enjoy. Watch out for fireworks.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Batman and Robin are inside the spaceship hideout of the Isthmus Sisters and their close friend Isthmus "Panama" Squirrel who have invited the duo for a team meeting since Bruce Wayne is hosting a circus event in Fair City to benefit the orphans in Fair City.  
> Batman believes that Tony Zucco is responsible for the death of Richard Grayson's parents when he was part of a circus act with his parents when Zucco was told to go away since the owner of the circus did not want to pay him "Protection money."

The story begins with Bruce Wayne and his partner Richard Grayson in their secret identies of Batman and Robin respectively are inside the spaceship hideout of the Lexicon Bandits who are identical twins Donna and Debi Isthmus and their close family friend Isthmus "Panama" Squirrel for what Batman would call "A team meeting." Batman begins by asking the female super hero in a tone of curiosity "Panama where did you get the nickname. I like the original name Isthmus a lot." Panama replies to her favorite hero by telling him in a tone of awe "I was going to use the name Isthmus since I spent my childhood in the small town of Portobelo Panama with my school chums (points at them) my good mates Donna and her younger sibling Debi also known as 'Two minute warning' since she came into the world in Lexicon which is our planet of birth after her older sibling Donna who is named after artist Donna Allen." Donna who sitting in a round table across the table from her friendly rival "Excuse me? How many time have I told you that I was named after the middle name of a deceased female singer from Boston with her last name being one of the four seasons of Earth? The hot one by the way! Like my temper when you tell fibs to these fine gentleman about my origin!" Panama Squirrel then tells Donna in a tone of a joke "Aw come on Diva. If Donna Allen was to have a free autograph session to sell her new musical record at the Fair City Theater today, how many commoners compared to the singing band 'Becky And Her Raiders' (a local singing group)? You tell me?" Donna tells Panama in a tense voice "If it is a bunch of teenagers, Becky and Her Raiders would be spending at least one hour signing police tickets for them. If it is commoners who remember her during her prime career, it would take about five minutes which would be the time I would need to dent your face like a Mariano Rivera cut fastball would break a bat from his opponent." Batman at this time is amazed that two female super heroes would be on each others throats over petty issues as he tells Nightwing in a soft voice "You know something Nightwing? A lot of our fans are saying that we would sell out Madison Square Garden in a heartbeat if we would agree to have a boxing match for charity. 15 round of less." Then as two heroines cool off as Debi Isthmus who plays the role of peacemaker tells her older sibling and her friend "Now that the auditions for 'Creed 3' are over, just confess to the two heroes in this room that was just a show Now let us give each other a handshake and a warm hug." The two heroine then laugh at each other as they shake each other and they give each other a hug as Batman and Nightwing have their eyes roll up as they have been hoodwinked by younger preteen heroes who are smarter they look. Then Donna asks Batman and Nighwing in a serious tone of voice "Okay guys. What brings you to Colonial Fair City? I understand that a gangster who is responsible for the passing of Richard Grayson's parents is in town to shake down a circus that is owned by Panamanian circus owner Prince Mariano. If I were this Zucco character. Good luck with that idea. It will be easier for him to attempt to cross the border in Hungary since the fence that separates Slovenia. Anyone who tries to enter illegally will be in the words of James Bond 007 when one of his foes died by electrocution. A shocking end." Batman and Nighwing then look at each other as they think to themselves "Green Arrow is up for sainthood compared to this fun bunch."


	2. Tony Zucco Tries To Make A Deal With  The Circus Dealer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony Zucco who is the gangster responsible for the incident where a circus owner refused his offer for protection money for a fee that resulted in the owner of the circus giving him the boot out of his office.
> 
> The result was that Zucco decided to tamper with the ropes where the circus act of the Flying Graysons which were the parents of Richard Grayson who was an eyewitness to the threats of Tony to make the circus owner pay for his refusal to accept his offer.
> 
> Now Prince Mariano is facing the same gangster who wants make him he cannot refuse. Will Mariano take the bait?

After Batman and Robin learned that the members of the Lexicon Bandits who are identical twins Donna and Debi Isthmus and their close family friend Isthmus "Panama" Squirrel are great at staging a family fight inside of their spaceship hideout, Batman tells Robin in a cool tone of voice "I am really impressed with the way these young ladies conduct their business. Staging an argument in front of us just for show."

Then Isthmus "Panama" Squirrel tells the two super heroes from Gotham City in a cool tone of voice "Now that you the inner workings of our team, I hope that we can be of assistance in capturing this Zucco character since Robin claims that we was a witness to the passing of his parents. You have our deepest sorrows for your losses."

Batman then asks Panama Squirrel in an amazed tone of voice "How did you about the passing of my parents in Crime Alley? That story is only known to members of the Justice League."

Panama replies to Batman in a cool tone of voice "Come on Batman. Thanks to the school courses I have taken at River Hato Elementary where Barry Allen is my school teacher under the guise of 'Origins of Super Heroes' classes, the students passed that course with flying colors."

Batman then tells Panama Squirrel in a tense tone of voice "I guess Mr. Allen told you to keep that information confidential under the penalty that would not engage in recess for the entire school year."

Panama replies to Batman who has calmed down by now "Did you team up with that overrated super heroine who uses the term 'Nothing But Trouble'?"

Batman answers to his super hero friend "Yes. I figured that the police scientist would make that request." Panama Squirrel then shows Batman that reads "What happens at a classroom run by Barry Allen stays here under the penalty of not going to recess for the entire school semester." Batman then wipes his brow as he says "Whew." >

Now back at the sight of the circus which is owned by Prince Mariano, gangster Tony Zucco who makes his living shaking down major corporations by asking them for protection money so he would not be forced to harm their business by either having a major disaster or someone getting rubbed our by his goons has a chat with Mariano who is a native of Panama who runs one of the few independent circuses that run shows in Latin populations in Latin America as well as in North America has a friendly chat with the gangster who wants to make him his newest target of his shakedown operation.

Tony tells Prince in a soft tone of voice "My good friend. My name is Tony Zucco. I understand that this circus used to belong to a comedian from Mexico who is no longer with us. (He means the late comedian whose stage name was Capulina.) I am sure because of your nation of origin, you get a lot of death threats. Am I wrong?"

Mariano tells Tony in a tough tone of voice "Of course I have gotten a lot of threats from drug dealers in every nation my shows have played. The only difference is that I looked those sons of female dogs in their eyeballs and told them in a firm tone of voice 'Your bark is worse than your bite. Someone upstairs can take you down with a snap of His fingers.' Then they would leave me alone and find another wimp to shakedown. You want to play games with me? Be my guest, What is on your mind?"

Tony tells Mariano in a tone of anger "Okay so those weasels in Mexico could not break you. For your information the parents of Richard Grayson are now wearing halos and wings in that circus in the sky after their owner turned me down. No thanks to Batman and Robin, I had to flee Gotham City for a while." Mariano yawns.

Then Mariano tells Tony in a tough tone of voice "Listen up Z Man. I do not care if you are if you are The Steel Assassin (From Wild Wild West tv show fame). I am not giving you one thin dime for your protection racket. You have been aced my me. Now get out of office before I throw you personally."

Then Tony walks up from his desk as he points a finger at Mariano as he tells him "Don't say I did not warn you. Have a nice day. Be ready to join your fallen comrades in that tragic incident in your homeland in January 1964. You are in my nation now."(The infamous Day Of The Martyrs incident)

As he leaves the office, Becky Botsford who is secretly Wordgirl who is in the company of her pet monkey Bob who is secretly Captain Huggyface witness the outburst outside of the office. Becky then asks the gangster in a tone of innocence "Can I please get your autograph?"

Zucco replies to Becky in a harsh tone of voice "Sure. I will do anything to sign my name on your notebook. That Mariano guy will find out the kiss of death will be coming soon. What is your name by the way?"

Becky replies to Tony doing her best James Bond impression "Botsford, Becky Botsford. License to teach you meaning of words my friend."

After Tony signs Becky's autograph book and thanks her for being a fan of his, Becky tells Bob in a soft tone of voice "Phase one of our plan to take this bad man down. I am sure Prince recorded the conversation so he can use it as evidence when Zucco goes down harder a bowling pin that is hurled by me. Hee! Hee! Hee!" More to come. I do not own the characters of Wordgirl and Batman.


	3. Becky Bostford has the goods on Tony Zucco

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Becky Botsford who is secretly Wordgirl has a new line of work besides being a student at Woodview Elementary School in Fair City. Becky and her pet monkey Bob who is secretly Captain Huggyface are working undercover to get what they call "The goods on Tony Zucco" to prove that Zucco was responsible for the passing of Richard Grayson's parents when Tony cut the rope that supported the flying trapeze act of the Grayson family.

At this time after Tony Zucco left the circus grounds to go to his hideout in Fair City right next door to the Lexiconian super heroine Elizabeth Parker who is not so secretly Gill Gal who is the female version of the Creature from the Black Lagoon even though she insists she is not related to the character who was in three horror movies in the 1950s, Tony Zucco enters his home with the help of two of his henchmen who work for him by doing his dirty work like using explosives to blow up buildings or unleash nerve gas attacks on unsuspecting business owners.

What Tony does not know is that Elizabeth who trained to be a super heroine in a secret super hero base in Panama City Panama that was once the headquarters of a former military strongman who has since passed away is what is referred to as a underwater specialist or she calls herself "Mera with a tan" since she is olive skinned is looking at her monitor to check on any suspicious activity that happens outside of her home when she sees Tony speaking to his henchmen but she cannot hear what they are saying since the monitor cannot pick up any words that are being whispered by the trio.

Elizabeth says to herself "My gill senses have a feeling that this man and his two henchmen I have seen before. I just can't put my finger on them where they are been seen before. Ah the life of a spy from Lexicon who was sent to Panama City to train as a super hero to run an intelligence program can be an adventure. Well it is time for me to relax and catch up on the latest world events like those football games in America."

Meanwhile back at the circus. Becky who is in the company of her pet monkey Bob knock on the door of Prince Mariano as he says in a cool tone of voice "Come on in. I trust that you are friendly and not coming here to ask for a handout for 'protection money.'"

Becky then walks into the office with her pet monkey walking by her side as Prince offers Bob a banana as he asks Becky in a cool tone of voice "Hello Becky and Bob. How did I do talking to that gangster? I guess he will be coming back to enforce his protection money scheme on me."

Becky then tells Prince in a calm tone of voice "Sure as the sun rises from the east and settles in the west, Tony and his gang will come here to try to cause a tragic event at your circus to tell you 'I told you so.' I did what you told me what to do. Get a sample of his handwriting as evidence against him when the authorities arrest him for making terrorist threats."

As Bob finishes eating his banana, Prince tell Becky in a cool tone of voice "Can you do me a small favor?"

Becky replies to Prince In a tone of excitement "Of course. What can I do for you sir?"

Prince replies to Becky and Bob in a cool tone of voice "Just make sure that you tell any of my employees that they see any suspicious activity on the circus grounds, notify the security police that work for me. I have been blessed that none of my circus performers have not been killed or maimed since any trapeze artists are required by rules of my company to have a safety net in place in case an accident happens. Better to be safe than sorry in my line of owning this circus."

Becky then shakes hands with Prince as she tells him "To borrow a line from that old saying 'Those of us who do not learn the lessons of history are condemned to repeat it. See you this evening."

As Becky leaves the circus office, she makes a phone call from her cell phone away from the public to the spaceship hideout of the Lexicon Bandits which is located close to the River Hato Elementary School campus to inform Panama Squirrel the news that Tony Zucco has plans to sabotage the circus later in the evening.

As Panama Squirrel answers the telephone that is located inside the spaceship hideout, Becky's image appears on the cellphone screen as Becky tells Panama in a cool tone of voice "Panama by any chance is Batman and Nighwting around?"

Panama replies to Becky in a calm tone of voice "They are here. Do you have any news of what is going down at the circus tonight?"

Becky replies to Panama who asks Batman and Nighwing to come and hear the news from Becky who tells them "The groundwork is being placed to perfection. The Zucco guy is most likely to strike tonight since that old saying is true. "Hell hath no fury on a businessman scorned by Prince Mariano. Just relaying what I know to you. Over and out." The screen then goes blank as Becky hangs up the cellphone.

Then Batman tells Nightwing in a cool tone of voice "To borrow a title from that former Miss America who became an actress, 'The Best Is Yet To Come.' Nighwting, your chance to take care of the man who wiped out your parents will become a reality."

Nighwting replies to Batman "Awesome. Paybacks are hell." I do not own the characters of Batman and Wordgirl.


	4. The Gotham City Heroes Are Getting Ready To Go After Tony Zucco

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nightwing and Batman are getting ready to capture Gotham City gangster Tony Zucco who is responsible for the circus tragedy that rubbed out Richard Grayson's parents when a defective rope broke causing the death of the Grayson's parents which left Richard an orphan.  
> The question is if Nightwing can keep his mind on doing the work of catching Zucco without crossing the line of taking the life of a gangster in revenge.

At this point in time Tony Zucco has left the circus grounds to return to his hideout where he would hold a meeting with his two henchmen so they can discuss the plan to sabotage the show that is owned by Prince Mariano by making it look like an accident.

Tony has a chat with the first henchman is a tone of voice "I will get even with the Prince character if it is the last I ever do. Prince rejected my offer or protection money. So we will have to come up with an angle to make up feel sorry he rejected my offer."

Henchman #1 says to Tony "So you found out that the owner of that circus is harder to deal with getting Batman angry when he has to deal with a murder case. So what is our game plan?"

Tony says to his two henchmen "I have the oldest trick in the book. I will be using that old 'I paid for my ticket to see the show.' While I take a seat under the tent, one of you will be working as technicians setting up the knife throwing background trick. The other henchman will replace the rubber knives with solid steel ones. When the knife thrower hurls the knives at the young lady who will be playing the role of his assistant, the knives will have a guidance system to hit the young lady in her torso which will end her life faster than you say the Flash. Prince will not be able to point his finger at me since I will be sitting pretty in my box office seat. Now you two guys go to the circus ground and find an opening where you make the switch. Just tell the circus performers that you are working there as city officials. I have your uniforms and badges. It was very easy to bribe the city officials." 

In the meantime Batman who is the company of Robim are in the crouch position across the hideout from Zucco's hideout which is next to the River Hato Elementary School campus which Is located next to an image of Superman and Panama Squirrel's facial images which is known as the "Superman/Panama Squirrel Gymnasium| with Robin using binoculars to spy on the crooks."

Batman asks Nightwing in a calm tone of voice "I know that you waited a long time to get your hands on the man responsible for the death of your parents. Promise me on the graves of our ancestors that you will not take Tony's life. We are only here based on a tip from Becky Botsford who told us that she has a hunch that Zucco has plans to sabotage the circus show tonight."

Robin tells Batman in a cautious tone of voice "My word of honor that I will obey your commands. Besides with the assistance of the Ladies of Portobelo (Donna and Debi Isthmus and their family friend Panama Squirrel) assisting us. This will be a slam dunk case to solve."

Then Zucco is then riding inside his limo while henchmen #1 drives the auto to the circus where they plan to execute their plan called "Accidental Death By Knives" on the assistant who will volunteer to have sharp knives throw at her by a knife thrower. More to come. I do not own the characters of Batman and Wordgirl.


	5. The plan to switch knives to make the death of a circus performer look like an accident

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While Tony Zucco who is a renown gangster in Gotham City who has gained a huge reputation as one businessman that does not being rejected easily by anyone has his plans to make circus owner Prince Mariano pays for his sin of rejecting his protection money his vendetta, Becky Botsford who is secretly Wordgirl has been given orders from her close friend Prince Mariano to be his "eyes and ears" if anyone does something that is not right.

While Tony Zucco is being driven to the circus by one of his henchmen who is wearing an Fair City inspector's uniform complete with a city badge to identify himself as an authority figure to make sure that the circus will be in safe hands so to speak, Batman and Robin are in their Batmobile that has a computer guide to track Zucco's auto from a safe distance as of not to draw attention from the gang leader, the duo of heroes from Gotham City are hoping that they can discreetly defuse a potential bloodbath at a circus that has a clean record of never having an accident that resulted in the death of any of their performers.

Robin asks Batman in a curious tone of voice "Not to sound like I am rookie in this business, but I am noticing that you are driving the Batmobile at a slower pace than usual. Why is this happening?"

Batman replies to Robin in a cool tone of voice "Robin, I know that you want to get the man who killed your parents as much as I want to catch the persons who killed my parents when I was your age. We have to use caution since the last thing I want to do to blow our cover. The computer inside this auto is tracking them at a discreet distance. When the time is right, when Zucco is caught with the evidence of committing a crime, we will pouch on him like Mil Mascaras (The Man Of A Thousand Masks) does his plancha move off of the top rope and pin him. One...two...three!"

Robin has a good chuckle since he and Batman have seen a few Lucha Libre (Free Fight) movies of the Mexican wrestler who is like Hulk Hogan. Either you love him because he is a great entertainer or you hate him since he acts like his bad breath does not smell.

Meantime back at the circus tent Rodney Trent who is a knife thrower is speaking to his assistant Iris Gamboa who is a close friend of Valerie Squirrel who is the wife of Colonial Fair City detective Robert Squirrel who admits his role model is fictional detective Dick Tracy.

Rodney tells his lovely assistant who is dark skinned who is wearing her gold and black leotard that is striped in a vertical way "Iris, I just wonder if all of the years we have worked in this circus around the world, our shows are not exactly billed as the best ever?"

Iris replies to her partner in a cool sultry tone of voice "Simple Hot Rod.(His nickname) Prince has this strict rule that all trapeze performers have do their shows with a safety net underneath so the performers do not fall down to their death. Prince thinks that we are his family. Sure some death story would assist us to sell out more shows. However he has gone of record of saying 'I would rather have fans give out how great our shows are by word of mouth than having the damn media go on the air with a sob story just to sell television ratings.'Now are you sure that your work is in competent hands?"

Rodney then replies to Iris is a kidding tone of voice "Of course my sweet Latina lady. (Iris is Panamanian) if anyone tries to sabotage this show, they will look incompetent in their attempt to mess with the Latina Justice League." (Really? A Latina Justice League? 

Meanwhile Tony and his two henchmen park their auto in the parking lot outside of the circus where the box office is located. 

Tony tells his two henchmen "You know the drill I will buying the tickets for the three of us, Henchman #1 you go to the area when the knife throwing tent is located. Henchman #2 you use the special microphone that I gave you that is wireless to attract the attention of the knife thrower and his assistant. When they leave their dressing room area, make the switch. This Mariano clown will have his first death of any of his family members with blood on his hands. We are just so evil, Thanos is a Catholic saint by comparison."

Meanwhile back at the Batmobile, Batman and Robin park the Batmobile in an empty lot near the main entrance of the circus. At this point Robin has flashbacks of the event that led to the death of his parents at the hands of Tony Zucco. 

Robin is thinking to himself "I affirm on the death of my parents that Zucco Is going to wish he never killed my loved ones. I hate to be in his shoes if I were him even though I gave Batman my word of honor to compose myself, this venue is starting to bring out my inner demons. Lord help me." More to come. I do not own the characters of Batman and Robin as well as Wordgirl. Any names of persons living or dead is not meant to harm anyone.


	6. Do You Have The Feeling That You Are Entering A Twilight Zone?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While Robin is struggling to keep his word of honor that he will not try to rub out Tony Zucco who was responsible for the deaths of his parents when they fell to their deaths in a flying trapeze act, Batman has instructed his assistances Panama Squirrel, Wordgirl and her partner monkey Captain Huggyface and her cousins identical twins Donna and Debi Isthmus to keep a sharp lookout for any suspicious activity inside the big tent.  
> Batman is hoping that members of his team can prevent Tony Zucco from finding a chance to make history repeat itself.

As soon as Batman and Robin park the Batmobile at a safe distance away from the main parking lot for obvious reasons, Batman uses his computer inside the Batmobile that has a camera that is attached to hidden cameras inside the various sections inside the big ten which include the dressing room of Iris Gamboa who is the assistant of knife thrower Rodney Trent where Iris is sitting in front of her mirror getting her brown hair done by using a brush as an image of Batgirl is close by the mirror.

Robin tells Batman in a funny tone of voice "Holy Batman family member. Iris is getting her done by looking at a mirror with the likeness of Batgirl. I always thought that she is a straight performer."

Batman replies to his younger partner in a tense voice "Robin, I do not mean to rebuke you. How many times have I told you never judge a person on who they admire. Batgirl does have many female fans who admire her girl next door image. I mean just because a lot of young boys look up to us as their role models does not mean that we are living an alternate lifestyle. Far from it. I guess Iris in her travels with the circus has met Batgirl and even received her autograph. Geez, what is the super hero business turned into. A circus?"

Robin has a good laugh as suddenly out of the blue the public address announcer which is one of Tony Zucco's henchmen calls out the assistant of the knife thrower to leave her dressing room to attend with a quick meeting with one of the clowns in the circus who is suffering from a stomach sickness.

Iris hen gets off her chair as she says to herself "I should have listening to my mother and should have enrolled into medical school to study to be a nurse. Well like so many of my favorite super heroes have to do, they have to save someone who needs my help during my time to get ready to do the knife throwing act. Ciao Bat Chica. I know how you feel since you told me when the circus played in Gotham City last week, you had to leave the venue outside of Yankee Stadium to rescue a cat that trapped in a tree."

Then the other henchman of Tony Zucco enters the dressing room of Iris as he has in his hands twelve knives that have on the tips of the blades, an explosive device that will release a poison gas that will render the assistant of Rodney dead as a doornail when she inhales the smoke thinking it is harmless.

Then as Iris goes to the trailer where the clown claimed to have had a stomach flu and needed Iris to give him some medicines, Iris is shocked to see Panama Squirrel greeting her to the trailer.

Panama tells Iris in a hurried voice "I am sorry that the call from the public address announcer was a false alarm. I just have a hunch that whoever made that call to flush you out was a ruse. By the way I like your costume with that great looking purple cape. You look like one of those luchadoras from Mexico."

Iris then asks Panama Squirrel in a tense manner "Isthmus I mean Panama, what you are doing here? The last thing I heard about is that you left Portobelo to come here to assist Wordgirl in fighting crime. (Crying) I...sure missed you since I loved your days when you teamed up with your friends the Isthmus Sisters when you saved my cousins from being kidnapped by those terrorists near La Palma in the Darien province, Come give me a huge hug."

Panama then grants the wish of her fan by giving her a huge hug as she tells her in a soft tone of voice "I know Iris. On behalf of my mates, if we had to do it again, we would do it again since family is the most important thins in our live. When did you leave our mother nation? I would like to know."

Iris then tells Panama "After my graduation from high school in Colon, a school in New Orleans sent me a scholarship to attend medical school. Lo and behold in my freshman year, the Mariano circus come to the suburbs of New Orleans. I went to the show. When Prince saw me, he liked my physique so much that made me an offer to play the role of the assistant of the knife thrower Rodney Trent since his former partner passed away a week ago in an auto accident. Rodney claims that since I looked like his former partner, he wanted to take her place. It is a decision that I am glad I took up. Yes I am an old fashioned girl who believes in dressing decently in these shows. Anything that I can do for you?"

Panama tells Iris in a cold tone of voice "Batman and Robin are in town since a gangster named Tony Zucco has plans to rub out of the circus performers. My hunch tells me you are the target since your boss told Tony to drop dead so to speak if he wanted to accept his protection money. I just want to wear this. Place these filters on your nostrils since uh my squirrel senses are telling me that your partner is likely to be framed for rubbing you out and make it look like an accident."

Iris tells Panama "Okay girlfriend, like you always tell me." Both Panama and Iris speak in unison "Better to be safe than sorry."

At this time one of Tony's henchmen sees his boss as he has the three tickets in his hand as the henchmen nods to his boss that the phase of executing their plan to make Prince Mariano famous will take place. More to come. I do not own the characters of Batman, Robin and Wordgirl.


	7. The Gotham City Gangsters Are Playing The Roles Of Innocent Bystanders

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony Zucco and his two henchmen have bought their tickets to see the show. The plan is for them to sit pretty while a circus performer will likely wind up dead by playing the role of the assistant to a knife thrower. Will our heroes who are Batman and Robin as well as their assistants who are Becky Bostford, her cousins Donna and Debi Moreno as well as their close family friend Gabrielle Squirrel who have hired by circus owner Prince Mariano be able to save his circus from getting free publicity from a death in his family? Let the games begin.

While Batman and Robin are inside their Batmobile looking at a camera that was planted by Colonial Fair City detective Robert Squirrel that basically make the show under the Big Top to make sure that all of the eyes are dotted and the tees crossed.

Robin tells Batman in a curious tone of voice "Not to sound rude Batman. But as Dick Tracy would say 'How can I useful at a desk job?' We just cannot run as fast the Flash to arrest Tony Zucco and his henchmen for killing my parents a long time ago by watching the cameras installed inside the circus?"

Batman then tells Robin with a smile on his face "Robin, I guess you do not the old saying 'When in Rome, do as the Romans do. We are not in Gotham City. We are in Fair City where the crime rate is lower. I know how you feel about getting Tony Zucco and take him to justice. I hate to break this to you. Even if Zucco was to perish in a battle against us. It will not bring back our parents from the grave. We just have some evidence that one of Zucco's henchmen have replaced the knives that are going to be hurled by Rodney Trent who has overcome the grief of losing his first assistant who perished in an auto accident while driving on a dark highway in Westwego Louisiana after they finished a show.

Rodney sees the image of his former assistant who went by the name of Gilda Rodriguez as he starts to weep quietly by saying "I knew that if I had just insisted to drive you home to the circus tent instead of letting you drive by yourself, you still would be my assistant today. I promise on your memory that I will do my best never to allow that to happen again." 

Then Rodney kisses her portrait for good luck as Iris walks inside the dressing room as she tells her partner in a cheery tone of voice "Rodney I know how you feel. Your former partner had a heart condition at birth. It is not your fault that she passed away. She would like it if you continue to proceed with her dream of making people happy for the period of time that we are spending in this town. Unless you are Superman, you cannot turn back the clock and pick up where the incident happened. The autopsy report said that Gilda died of a heart attack and she was dead when the auto crashed into the ditch of the Westbank Expressway near the Huey P Long bridge. Okay so you can call me her doppelganger except that I am from Panama and not Louisiana. Come on Rodney put a smile on your face. We are getting ready to entertain the kids."

Rodney then tells Iris with a smile on his face "Thank you for cheering me up. You are living proof that Adrian Balboa had children."

Iris then tells Rodney in a funny tone of voice "Really? I always thought you liked me since I have an odd sense of humor." The couple then share a warm kiss while they are getting ready to do their show for the fans.

In the meantime Gabrielle Squirrel who is the company of her mom Valerie is sitting next to the gangsters as they are watching Becky Botsford and her cousins identical twins Donna and Debi Moreno play the role of clowns tossing a beach ball around to the delight of the fans. The trio hear Tony saying to his first henchman. in a low tone of voice "Okay men, when the knife thrower comes out with his assistant, we will be witnesses to history. The assistant will be rubbed out by the knife thrower and we will be sitting pretty as bird inside of a nest."

Then after Becky finishes the clown act by hurling a bucket of water intended to hit her cousin Donna in the face, Donna uses her boxing skills to avoid getting hit with water which was done on purpose as the water hits Tony in the face as he is wet as well as his blue suit.

Tony gets out of his seat as he yells at Becky "Why you little brat. Don't you know what I am?"

Becky asks Tony while sticking out her tongue "Let me guess. Inspector Watson? (The chief of police in Fair City) Sorry about chief! See you later." Then Becky and her mates walk away to their dressing rooms as Tony is fuming mad by saying "I swear on the graves of my ancestors, that brat will pay for her insolence with her life!" The crowd then gasps as they think that the circus will face their first fatality in their history. More to come. I do not own the characters of Wordgirl and Batman.


	8. Tony Zucco's Plans To Harm Circus Performers Is About To Take Shape

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As soon as Tony Zucco in an act of anger since Becky Botsford who is secretly Wordgirl used her boxing skills to duck having a bucket of water splash her in the face when her cousin Debi Moreno who is secretly Debi Isthmus was supposed to use confetti instead is seen walking toward her dressing room since the knife throwing portion of the circus was coming up.
> 
> Now the question is will Batman and Robin use Tony's words as a cue to take him down? Like they said on the Batman television show "The worst is yet to come."

At this Becky Botsford who is in the company of her cousins identical twins Donna and Debi Moreno who are dressed as circus clowns since they received permission from the owner of the circus Prince Mariano who has taken pride that in the history of owning a circus that he purchased when a former comedian from Mexico passed away several years ago.

Prince knows the secret identities of the children who are in the age range of 13 years and 14 years of age with Becky being the oldest of the trio. As Prince is ready to greet them as the trio approach their dressing room, Becky tells her cousin Debi who has a reputation of being a prankster in a cheery tone of voice "You did a superb job changing the graffiti to water. Now it appears that Tony Zucco will have two options."

Debi who at this time is taking off her makeup asks her cousin in a polite manner "What are the options that this shakedown has in mind? Sue the citrus or decide to go after us. After all he did get his suit wet as well as have so much water on his mush that I could swear he must have taken a dip in Gatun Lake in Panama. During low tide." Laughs a few times.

Prince then tells the trio in a polite tone of voice "Time will tell if he plans to sue my circus. If that happens, what will be his reason? Getting water thrown at him? A judge in Fair City would dismiss the suit faster than you say..."

Then Prince hears a scream coming from the dressing room where Iris Gamboa who is the assistant to Rodney Trent who is a knife thrower is suddenly being held hostage by the first henchmen of Tony Zucco who has one of the poisoned knives around her throat.

The second henchman of Tony has a knife also around the throat of Rodney as Tony who managed to leave the seating area where he was to execute his plan to shakedown the circus by any means necessary.

Tony then tells Prince and his performers in a harsh tone of voice "Okay Prince, you were warned that refusing to do business with me would result in someone getting hurt. Now either you close down this show right now and have your cashiers give me the money from tonight's show and you can have your children (A term Prince calls his performers since he is single) back safe and sound. Deal or no deal?"

Prince then begs Tony and his henchmen "The safety of my performers is much more valuable than losing a few bucks. I will instruct my lead cashier to take all of the money that has been collected tonight. Give me your word that Iris and Rodney will not be harmed."

Tony then tells Prince in a taunting voice "It appears that I have been able to bring the mighty Prince Mariano to his knees. You are making a very wise decision. Now get me the green stuff as soon as you can or else your circus will make headlines that two of your children as you call them will be dead meat."

Iris yells at Tony "You fiend. If I do not know any better, you likely rubbed out Richard Grayson's parents."

Tony then tells Iris in a snide tone of voice "Great call young lady. I did have a hand in getting them rubbed out. For many years Batman has been on my tail trying to get me to justice. Since I am Fair City, Batman and Robin are not in sight of this dirty old town."

Then Iris who has the smarts of using her facial expressions then blinks her eyelashes twice toward Prince. Prince then realizes that his assistant is telling him "I just hope that Batman and Robin are in this place. The element of surprise will take down this creeps." 

Then as Prince instructs his female personal assistant to collect the money, she is greeted by Batman and Robin who then make the gesture of having their index fingers over their lips at the box office.

Batman then tells the female assistant in a quiet voice "Hand these money bags to Tony. There is a sleeping gas chemical inside the money bags that will send him to dreamland without him knowing it. Just call it an Ivan Drago kayo." (Ivan Drago is the Russian boxer from the Rocky Balboa and Creed movies.)

Robin then whispers to Batman "I hate to tell you this partner. It is a wonderful thing that Panama Squirrel admires both of us. She suggested to use these quick sleeping capsules inside the money bags. Those creeps will be easy to catch like fish in a barrel."

Then as Prince's female assistant leaves the box office area, she gives the two Gotham City blows a kiss to both of them as she walks toward Prince who has Tony Zucco playing one gun at this Lexicon heroes with one hand and a gun aimed in the back of Prince who has no choice but to do what a gangster wants. More to come. I do not own the characters of Batman and Wordgirl.


	9. Onw Way To Take Down A Shakedown Artist Without Violence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony Zucco who is a gangster in Gotham City who is responsible for the death of Richard Grayson's parents when a circus owner refused to bow down to his demands of getting some protection money to the gangster several years ago, now thinks that my fleeing Gotham City to Fair City, he can do this gig of shaking down a circus in Fair City.
> 
> Although his plan is close to being a success, he does not realize that students of Batman and Robin who work independently from the Teen Titans are working as circus performers to make sure that Prince Mariano who owns a circus keeps his impeccable record of not having of his performer pass away under his watch.

As the personal assistant of Prince Mariano is carrying two sacks of money that contain the profits of the evening show under the Big Top, Tony is holding a loaded gun to the back of the head of Prince telling him in a harsh tone "If you value your life Prince, do not make any moves since unless you are the Flash, you cannot dodge a bullet from close range. Ah I see that your personal assistant is bringing me and my henchmen the profits for tonight's show. Okay young lady, hand me the money bag and I will make sure that your boss does not get hurt."

Then as the personal assistant of Prince hands over the money to Tony she looks at Rodney and Iris who have knives on their throats as they are quiet as mice for obvious reasons since they fear saying anything to provoke Tony's henchmen from taking their lives by slitting their throats.

Then as soon as Tony opens up the cash bag, a small aerosol can shoots into his face a powerful knockout gas as he coughs twice. Tony tells "A gas bag trick. I can\t....catch my breath. I-I have been tricked. Henchmen do your...oooh!"

Then just as the first henchmen is about to slit the throat of Rodney, Becky Botsford who is secretly Wordgirl uses her super speed to punch the henchman in his chin as she yells to him "Not under my watch, Take one for the team." 

Henchman number one then passes out from the blow while Donna Moreno then morphs into a jaguar and before the second henchman can execute his plan to harm Iris, he drops the knife as Iris who is wearing his gas protection weapon by having her nostrils using a special breathing device tells the second henchman in a tone of anger "Thanks young lady. I will show this henchman I do not get mad at someone who tries to harm me. I get nastier than the Fabulous Freebirds inside a pro wrestling ting. Then Iris hits the henchman with a chop to his chest that would impress "Nature Boy" Ric Flair.

Iris yells "Whoooo! To be the woman, you got to beat the woman." Then the second money bag that Prince's personal assistant has in her left hand is gently placed on the ground as Batman and Robin enter the room where the dressing room where the Fair City heroines are dressed in their regular clothing as Robin tells Batman "Holy knockout night Batman. It appears that Tony Zucco and his henchmen fell for the oldest gimmick in the book."

Batman tells Robin "Yes Robin. Thanks to the suggestion of Panama Squirrel, that she claimed she learned from one my battles against the Signalman. Even though he is one of the meanest villains of all time since he uses chemical sleeping weapons from signal objects that he possesses, she told us that since many criminals like to use money bags as their getaway when they steal banks around Gotham City, putting them to sleep is better to having to beat them into submission."

Then Prince uses his cellphone to call up the local police to bring the paddy wagon to pick the criminals. 

At this time Iris and Rodney thank the female heroines as well as Batman and Robin for saving her life as well as her partner by giving all of them a hug as well as her partner. Then the personal assistant of Prince turns out to be Batgirl who was wearing a disguise since in her own words "I always enjoyed going to a circus as well as being a super heroine. My dream came true tonight."

At this time after Donna returns to herself as she changes from being a jaguar to her human form she asks Batman and Robin "How did I do? Any chance that we have arrived in the super hero big leagues?"

Batman and Robin tells her in unison "Thanks to you and your mates, you have arrived to the major leagues. Now that all of the villains have been tied up and there is nothing left for us to do, we shall depart the building." Then all of the super heroes leave the area as in a few minutes Becky Botsford, her cousins Donna and Debi Moreno and their close family friend Gabrielle Squirrel come back and ask Prince Mariano in a curious tone of voice in unison "Is the show back on?"

Prince replies to the children "Of course it is on. Come on Iris and Rodney, time for you to do your act. Let me see if the knives are safe to use. When Prince finds out that the knives are booby trapped. he tells the duo in a tone of anger "Just as I thought. These knives are booby trapped. There should be a fresh supply on knives in my office. Better to be safe than sorry." More to come. I do not own the characters of Wordgirl and Batman.


	10. The Circus Is Leaving Fair City

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "The show must go on" is the slogan of many entertainment shows. Despite the brief hostage problem that went down, the Gotham City heroes who are Batman, Robin and Batgirl with the assistance of Wordgirl, her assistant and mentor monkey Captain Huggyface and their teammates identical twins Donna and Debi Isthmus as well as their family friend Panama Squirrel were able to halt Tony Zucco and his two henchmen from shaking down a circus.

Rodney Trent who is a knife thrower specialist who is in the company of his assistant Iris Gamboa are thankful that Fair City has some young super heroes who did their part to make sure that Prince Mariano who owns an independent circus that is expanding from the Latin American market to the North American market with a reputation of having family friendly shows for their fans without any fatal accidents, are in the area where their act has drawn critical reviews from the entertainment world since Rodney has this act of throwing four knives on his two hands with the use of a mirror while he has back turned to his assistant to conclude the act.

Even though both performers were mentally shaken by their ordeal of being hostages of Tony Zucco and his henchman by having knives near their throats, the act was performed successfully since the knives landed near Iris' facial cheeks but no harm came to her.

As the show came to an end, all circus performers which included Becky Botsford, her pet monkey Bob, her cousins Donna and Debi Moreno as well as their family friend Gabrielle Squirrel dancing to the tune of "Can't Stop The Music." which was played over the loudspeaker with the instrumental parts played until the song finished. Then as the show closed for the final time in Fair City, Bruce Wayne as well as his ward Richard Grayson and Barbara Gordon who is the daughter of Gotham City Police Commissioner James Gordon had a quick chat with Prince Mariano.

Bruce asks Prince politely "Now that the show finished in Fair City, which is the next stop. Oh by the way a check from the Wayne Foundation for $ 100,000 dollars as a thank you for coming here. ON behalf of Barbara and Richard, we enjoyed the show,"

Prince then tells Bruce with a smile on his face and he accepts the money, "Well Bruce, the next stop is Metropolis. It is the home of Superman and his family. Then Gotham City, Star City and then Coast City. If you are in those cities, you are more than welcome to stop by. See you later." Then Prince orders the driver of the lead truck to "Rev up the engine. Metropolis here we come."

At this point Bruce consoles Richard by telling him "I feel the loss of your parents in a venue like this one. Do you feel better Richard?"

Richard replies to Bruce in a bittersweet tone of voice "I feel like my parents are still with me in spirit. I really enjoyed the Iris character as well as Rodney, Despite the loss of his original partner, Iris has filled the void just like you and Alfred made me welcome after Zucco killed my parents. I just wish we could meet with those super heroes from Lexicon again"

Bruce tells Richard and Barbara "Sooner than you expect. They have agreed to assist us when we need their assistance since Gotham City is practically a short distance from here ."

As this story is about to end, Wordgirl who has super hearing as she is back at her hideout tells Captain Huggyface in a cheerful tone "Pops Moreno (her uncle Ronnie) is right. No one can beat us a team when we all work together."

Huggy replies to his student "Amen to that my student. We are simply the best of all time." The end. I do not own the characters of Batman and Wordgirl.

**Author's Note:**

> Even though the circus in Fair City came to an end. The show will continue to tour D C super hero cities.


End file.
